Final Design

Expectation                vs                       Reality 

Watch it in action below:

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General Design Workflow:

A block diagram has been provided below. This diagram illustrates a simplified version of the workflow. Namely, the main line is the movement of the assembly line. In the first position, the product and insert are placed, and in the second position, the plastic is folded and sealed.

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Plastic Feeding:

A conveyor belt is used to move the packaging assembly throughout the process. This uses a motor-driven roller to bring fresh material to the conveyor belt, which is also driven by a motor.

Watch it in action by clicking on the image below:

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Insert Feeding:

This gravity-fed dispenser pushes out a single insert when a 'run' signal is sent to the roller.

Watch it in action by clicking on the image below:

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Product Feeding:

This gravity empowered dispenser uses a rocker to dispense exactly one unit at a time. Inspired by a gravity-powered utensil dispenser, this component drops the product directly beneath it, allowing for easy timing with the rest of the system.

The 'rocker arm', which no longer functions as a rocker, seen in the above photo spins continuously forward, and pushes out two products per revolution, one on each half revolution. This is a byproduct of the rocker's special geometry, which prevents it from pushing forward two products at a time.

Watch it in action by clicking on the image below:

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Long Edge Plastic Cutting:

The cutter is based off of a Pruza i3 component, and uses a timing belt to slide a cutter along two guide rails. Two bearings are used near the contact point to try to reduce the buckling of the plastic.

The typical seal looks like the image displayed below:

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Folding Mechanism:

This folding mechanism is designed to not only grab the part for folding, but to hold it securely in place during the sealing process. The plastic is grabbed in the extended position of the rotating arm and swung over the material, ending in the contracted position of the rotating arm, thus allowing enough space for the material to rest gently on top of the unit inside.

Watch it in action by clicking on the image below:

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Impulse Sealing:

The special 3-seam design allows for the use of flat plastic sheets in the packaging process, which helps reduce material cost due to the low cost of LDPE sheets. The impulse sealer housing is driven by two synced stepper motors, which are able to drive this heavy, massive assembly.

The sealing logic exists such that the different sealing circuits never actually make contact, thus preventing a short from occurring from one filament to another. On the top segment, the heating element can be found on each side, while on the bottom segment, the heating element can be found running across the long center. Opposite each of these heating elements is some silicone rubber, designed to both thermally and electrically isolate during the sealing process.

The typical seal looks like the image displayed below:

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Controller:

The system is controlled with 3 different arduinos all networked to talk with eachother. Each stepper motor is controlled with a Motor Driver on one of the two RAMPS 1.4 Motor Shields, while the DC motors are each driven through the OSEPP Motor Shield.

An extremely simplified GUI was designed for the explicit purpose of operating the machine. The buttons function as labeled.